Refugees or fugitives?
by luvs2smooch
Summary: A boy from another land appears in Konoha and dies. When his former sqaudmates engage Squad 7, will anyone believe a tale of destruction, possibly woven by traitors? Rated T to be safe. Please R&R.
1. Death of a Stranger

**luvs2smooch: Hey there! Thanks 4 checking this out. I doubt there will be any…er…controversial material in here, and it will have some OOCness about so don't blame me. This is my first fic in a while, so don't be harsh. **

**I greatly appreciate constructive criticism, and it will be accepted with open arms. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, however much I may dream about it.**

**Summary: ****A boy from another land appears in Konoha and dies. When his former sqaudmates engage Squad 7, will anyone believe a tale of destruction, possibly woven by traitors? Rated T to be safe. Please R&R.**

The bright tendrils of dawn battled the retreating darkness in the ninja village of Konoha. It was a cool morning in the middle of summer. A magnificent festival from the previous day had left a few drunks passed out against walls o the central road. Clinics all about the village would soon fill with boys who had become men in silly fights from the day before, defending their pride and titles.

And then, a boy. Young, around 13. He staggered through the towering village gate, leaving a dotted trail of scarlet behind him. He was hunched over in agony, his hair and clothes matted with blood. a few shuriken protruded from his back, and a ripped sleave showed a massive, deep cut on his right arm. Even his face showed signs of some recent battle, swollen and blue around the cheeks. He stumbled, nearly falling more than a few times, as far as he could, then collapsed in a bloodied heap. He solemnly thought to himself that he may never get up.

A nearby man laying in his own filth pointed and laughed, too drunk to realize that this boy needed medical attention. The boy promptly decided that if he did ever rise, he would demolish that fool firsthand. But it was not to be, as a small crowd gathered. It was moments, however, before a young woman's scream pierced the early morning air and a medical squad appeared on the scene.

The youth could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness. As such, he felt not the otherwise addling medical procedures taking place, and realized he must have gone into shock. Shock could not, however, prevent the woman's screech from thoroughly echoing through his mind. The sad wail was joined by the sound of an organ. _A church organ..._His consinceness faded shortly thereafter.

Nurses and medics gathered, but the next day, the poor lad's photograph frontlined the local papers. It showed a boy with gray hair strung back into a ponytail, albeit for two long bangs that hung forward. His piercing green eyes were pried open and his clammy skin showed no signs of life. It was to great dismay that it was in the obituaries. He was to be honored at a ceremony in a few days time, along with so many other unidentified deaths.

The village would not learn of the late youth's foreign origin until several days later, when squad 7 made gain back into the village, escorting two stubborn prisoners of similar trait and accompanied by two rival Jonin.

But that, of course, is a tale for another chapter.

**luvs2smooch: How was it? **


	2. Field Confrontation

**Well, here's chapter two. No reviews yet, but meh. Please read on, as I'm sure that's why you're here. **

**Disclaimer: I do not, regrettably, own Naruto. **

**Refugees or fugitives? **

**Chapter two **

**Field confrontation**

It was midday. Three genin had just completed an arduous mission, and were on their way through a small agricultural settlement. They all had one thing on their minds; a hot meal and a warm shower. But, of course, at least one of them has to complain…which is where this story begins.

"Stupid pigs…I mean come on! You would think we'd be done with farm missions by now…"A particularly loud mouthed genin sporting spiky blonde hair and an odd orange jacket spoke. Naruto, as he was called, wore an arrogant frown and walked with his arms resting behind his head. He continued to pursue conversation.

"Well, they're annoying; I'll give you that…" A girl standing to the left of him threw Naruto a bone, hoping to silence him for a period. Her name, Sakura, was fitting due to her bright pink hair and pinkish shirt-thing **(A/N: anyone know what those are called?) **that hid a pair of black shorts.

A boy slightly taller than Naruto and to his right gave no more than a slight grunt. He didn't see where this conversation was going, and felt no need to participate. His dark hair slightly eclipsed his ears and face, but not enough to hide his intense onyx eyes.

"Well, Sasuke???" Naruto blurted this in a rather displeased tone without thinking, and received a wallop from the left for his troubles. He clutched his head and whined.

Sasuke paid no heed to the quarrel that ensued, and instead looked around, seeking an exit from these...simpletons, he supposed was the right word.

All of a sudden, he felt a strange presence gather about, and in that instant something told him that out in the open like this was a terrible place to be.

Still ignoring the argument, the taller boy slightly nudged each of his companions in the direction of the shops that bordered them on both sides.

"Hmm? What's up, Sasuke?" Both Naruto and Sakura turned around to question Sasuke's unexpected motion. Sasuke quickly scanned the area, looking for an easy way to convince them. He saw a simple escape, and went for it.

"Uh- c'mon. I'll, uh, buy you some ramen…" He tried to keep his composure, and yet he actually felt himself begin to panic.

But he need not have said more. Naruto was sitting at the ramen bar within seconds. Sakura walked with Sasuke, showering him with fan-girlish praise. He ignored here, offering an occasional "Hn." He was simply glad to be able to leave this open expanse of a village.

Squad 7 made a noisy exit from the ramen shop, with Naruto protesting the whole way. He insisted on just another bowl, maybe a drink, but he was given no latitude. Despite his complaints, they all knew that Naruto had cleaned out the ramen shop. More surprising was that Sasuke did not seem to care that Naruto had taken an enormous chunk out of his wallet, and it continued to puzzle Sakura and Naruto until they found a very, very, very desperate and low-quality inn that would host three children on an extremely low budget for a night.

The sun may have risen the next morning, but no one could tell through the quilted depth of an early fog. The day remained dark through an early breakfast and a late lunch, and Squad 7 found themselves on a winding path in a thickly wooded maze. Of course, the dark remained even though the fog had dissipated; the high, leafy trees guaranteed that.

A high wind began to blow, rustling leaves and branches. It became quite apparent that they were lost, and Sasuke was just beginning to suspect some sort of Genjutsu when all of a sudden the trees opened into a squat, bright clearing. A variety of brownish grasses contrasted the bright flowery plumes of early spring, and Sasuke reconsidered his previous observation. Sakura, however, would have nothing of it.

"Something feels…out of place…" She struggled for the right words. "Do you suppose someone is watching?..." Naruto, too tired to pay heed to her words, decisively plopped his rear on a log to rest. He resolved to share a rice cake with Sakura to harbor a relationship when something happened--

_Thuk_. A kunai buried itself in the backside of Naruto's log and he gave a yelp, leaping into the air to escape whatever had attacked. Sasuke made an overview of the situation and observed that the knife had been thrown from the east, and thus they could expect an attack to be mounted from that direction. He silently shared this with hand signals and the group put themselves into advantageous positions, only to be surprised by what came to be.

Unbeknownst from their positions, a slim beam of a figure shot through the clearing, coming from directly behind them. It raced in a bent over posture to decrease wind resistance, however held out two arms in front for a soon to be known reason.

It was right between Sakura and Sasuke before either knew what was taking place, and leaped into the air, promptly swinging both hands backwards to deal punishing blows to the neck. Assault finished, the figure rolled on the ground and dove into the brush, somehow concealing its whereabouts in an instant.

Sakura and Sasuke stumbled backwards, startled by the strike. It was certainly non-lethal, possibly meant to draw attention. _Wait_, Sasuke thought, _then—_he whirled around, suddenly realizing what was happening, only to see another figure garbed in deep black shove a palm onto the ground to create a seal.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" All quickly recognized it as a summoning jutsu. Naruto saw an opportunity for a summons show-off. Sasuke knew he lacked knowledge of summoning techniques, and kept tense, while Sakura leveled her concentration on their previous assailant.

From the seal on the ground erupted a black, translucent tentacle-like extension. It had an oily, ominous quality to it, and slowly wavered back and across. Sakura shuddered at its view, and decided to avoid confronting it by pursuing their more recent aggressor into the field. She made a dash and was instantly confronted.

What appeared to be a girl stood slightly shorter than Sakura and wore a form-fitting, off-white jumpsuit with portions of the fabric dyed with diverse hues of gray. It came only to the knees and elbows. No sandals had been donned, nor for a while, which did dirt smudges and bloody patches of torn skin show. The most startling feature of hers, however, was the complete lack of hair. Not a single hair came from her scalp, and this thoroughly surprised Sakura. She nearly puzzled over this figure's sex before realizing this was not such a time for that and she proceeded to meet her foes fighting stance.

Sasuke took a disregard to Naruto, taking the insight that this battle could be quickly off handed by a quick and decisive strike. Sasuke drew a kunai with his left hand and charged at the summoner with a shout. It was clear now that he was a boy, so Sasuke felt no remorse when he halted abruptly and struck forward with his kunai—only to strike empty air.

_What the—He was here just now…where…?_ Sasuke's train of thought crashed when he saw this new foe's upper body materialize on the side of the dark tentacle and got a good look. Dark hair tipped with red hung in small, assorted spikes. Long onyx lines trailed up and down from the tips of his eyes to meet his jaw and hairline in dissipated points. Two long and wide strips of a light fabric colored white went from the right and left shoulders to the left and right chest-sides, respectively. They overlapped to form an ominous X, and were matched by maroon strings running up and down their lengths. Black bands of tanned leather ran vertically down his torso, intricately carved and brutally battered by years of abuse. Beneath it he wore a black jacket that split at the sleeves for buttons. Deep blue cloth covered his hands. He grinned wickedly at Sasuke, who committed the picture to memory, an old habit that he found insurmountably useful.

Sasuke was given no more leeway than that, and the attacker quickly formed a seal and whispered an inaudible enchantment. To Sasuke's surprise, he retracted into the mass of shadows and it began to resonate with a dark, brassy tone. It began to nearly vibrate, and moved back and forth with inhuman speeds. The tone grew in volume and seemed to be expanding, almost bursting with metaphoric strength. The deafening noise continued as the abomination of darkness seemed to extend, reaching outwards.

Sasuke tried to comprehend why this was happening, but was given a simple answer when the mass of black, having sprung out of the ground, drove itself with astonishing speed directly at him. He had barely grasped the happening, and an after-tail of the shadow struck his shoulder as he evaded the tackle. It seared his skin like acid, and his black shirt burned away.

_Imagine what would have happened if it had hit me directly! _ He was, in fact, given an excellent visual aid of what would have happened, because as soon as the shadowy blob thumped against the earth behind him, it scorched an appropriate sized hole and continued the burrow. Sasuke stared at the enormous, smoking fissure and pondered what this thing was really made of for a moment. Sasuke further assessed the situation, and felt light vibrations. It dawned on him that he would have to keep cautious track of this new threat in order to prevent a gruesome casualty.

On the other side of the field, Sakura was having her own troubles. The bald female had formed some sort of ice seal, and anything she struck spontaneously froze. She used this to a great advantage by pairing it with blindingly quick taijutsu. Sakura already saw that blocking assaults would be futile, and was having a hard time dodging the flurry of blows.

_ Left_, she thought, _right, just watch her hands—_which was when Sakura noted an odd hue of white surrounding the enemies palms. Of course, Sakura had learned to think on multiple levels, and figured that that was where the freezing chakra was emitted. The way that her hands and feet glowed with an icy mist, yes, that must be it... She took a defensive stance. Her opponent, anxious to finish, took a decisive leap forward, pitching open palms directly at Sakura's neck—

**Only to be cut off by me, deciding to end the chapter in a cheap cliffhanger. Thanks for reading, and please leave any sort of review. Flames, as always, are discouraged, whereas constructive criticism is welcome. All would be appreciated. So please review and move on to next chappy if I've updated. See ya! **


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